🔴Northwestern Ontario Is on Fire. Communities Are Evacuating. A Train Was Caught in the Flames.🔴

By Annie Koshy

The video circulating today of a train encased in flames near Armstrong, Ontario is not an isolated incident. It is a window into a full-scale wildfire emergency that is consuming northwestern Ontario right now, on the hottest day the region has experienced in years.

As of today, July 14, mandatory evacuation orders are in place for Armstrong, Whitesand First Nation, Collins First Nation, also known as Namaygoosisagagun First Nation, Lac des Mille Lacs First Nation and Cushing Lake. Residents have been fleeing to Thunder Bay. Highway 527 northbound is closed at Gull Bay First Nation. Sections of Highway 599 and Highway 11 are also closed. Ignace, Crystal Lake and the Highway 633 area have been told to prepare for possible evacuations. The OPP is warning the public not to enter these areas, including those attempting to capture footage.

The personal accounts coming out of Namaygoosisagagun First Nation are devastating. We had minutes to get on the boats and flee before it took our town, one member told APTN News. Once we got to the beach it was only moments before the fire had jumped over the train track and was coming for us. MPP Sol Mamakwa for Kiiwetinoong has stated that the wildfire has destroyed Collins First Nation entirely. An entire First Nation community has been erased because of this disaster, he said.

The largest fire has been burning near Collins since the end of May and has now blackened more than 14,000 hectares. There are 160 active fires across Ontario as of today, 128 of which were in the northwest as of Monday evening with 53 not under control. Thirty-one new fires were reported on Monday alone. Three CN trains hauling combustible products were halted on the tracks in the Armstrong area because the fires surrounded them. The video showing a train encased in flames with another train approaching is a direct consequence of that entrapment.

Environment Canada has much of northern Ontario under severe heat warnings with temperatures reaching 36 degrees Celsius and the humidex making it feel as hot as 40 degrees. The extreme heat and dry conditions have elevated fire intensity dramatically over the past 24 hours.

Wabakimi Provincial Park is closed until July 20. Camp Gitchigomee’s Junior Camp has been cancelled and all campers safely evacuated. Fire bans are now in effect for Thunder Bay, Oliver Paipoonge, Neebing, Nolalu and Dryden.

This is an active and rapidly evolving emergency. If you are in the affected area, follow OPP instructions immediately and call 911 if you need evacuation assistance. If you have family or friends in any of the evacuated communities, check on them now. Emergency Management Ontario is directing all evacuees south to Thunder Bay.